Collected Plays

by Arthur Miller, Barron Storey (Illustrator)

437 pages, Leather Bound

Published January 1, 1980

About the author

Works of American playwright Arthur Asher Miller include Death of a Salesman (1949), for which he won a Pulitzer Prize, and The Crucible (1953).


This essayist, a prominent figure in literature and cinema for over 61 years, composed a wide variety, such as celebrated A View from the Bridge and All My Sons , still studied and performed worldwide. Miller often in the public eye most famously refused to give evidence to the un-American activities committee of the House of Representatives, received award for drama, and married Marilyn Monroe. People at the time considered the greatest Miller.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_...

Reviews

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been many years since I read a collection of plays, and after reading these five plays by Arthur Miller, I am not sure why. While I have enjoyed some of the musicals produced for the theater in recent years, I have disappointed with the predominance of the musicals. Most of the dramas available in our area are locally written or locally produced. It is rare that I see a drama that began in NYC and went on the road nationally. I saw an article in the NYT recently about men no longer reading novels; I find this trend towards musicals in the theater just as disconcerting and disappointing.

This collection included five plays: All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A Memory of Two Mondays and A View from the Bridge. I was familiar with Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, having both read them and seen them presented. The other three, I believe, were new to me. Nothing about A Memory of Two Mondays really grabbed me, but I was very impressed with the other four. Surprisingly, these plays didn’t feel dated. A View from the Bridge could be revived today, given the dissenting views on immigration and immigrants, and provide fodder for some spirited discussion. While some of the stories were tied to an historical event, such as All My Sons and WWII, the underlying themes were relevant to many other periods in the U.S.’s history. The emotions these plays provoked in me were strong and undeniable.

I performed a search for the most important plays in my country’s history. Sad to say, some of them I did not recognize, but three of these plays were on multiple lists. I was not surprised.